Inversion of particle-size distribution from angular light-scattering data with genetic algorithms

A stochastic inverse technique based on a genetic algorithm (GA) to invert particle-size distribution from angular light-scattering data is developed. This inverse technique is independent of any given a priori information of particle-size distribution. Numerical tests show that this technique can be successfully applied to inverse problems with high stability in the presence of random noise and low susceptibility to the shape of distributions. It has also been shown that the GA-based inverse technique is more efficient in use of computing time than the inverse Monte Carlo method recently developed by Ligon ct al. [Appl. Opt. 35, 4297 (1996)]. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.